Abstrict The invention comprises a blood lancet device for puncturing the
fleshy part on the inner side of a finger tip, or an ear lobe, in
order to draw blood for a hemoglobin test, or other type of blood
test and which is completely sanitary to avoid any possibility of
contamination of the blood drawn for testing. The device includes
a finger grip element to be held by a user, with a surface adapted
to be engaged with the fleshy finger tip pad, or ear lobe, and a
hinged striker element pivotally mounted on the device and spring
actuated to drive a sharp puncturing element secured on the striker,
into such pad, with a thumb piece on the striker for drawing it
back to a cocked position and having a twist-off or tear away protective
element for maintaining the sanitary condition of the puncturing
element until it is to be used. The striker element is flexible
and the finger grip element is provided with an upstanding projection
on the top surface, which the striker contacts and about which the
striker flexes when it is spring actuated downwardly about its pivot,
whereby the puncturing element is thrust downwardly below the bottom
surface of the finger grip element to puncture the flesh and then
be retracted upwardly when it rebounds to dispose the puncture element
substantially above such bottom surface in a withdrawn position.
Claims What is claimed is:
1. A flesh puncturing device for creating a wound from which blood
can be drawn for testing, said device having a pivoted striker member
including a puncturing instrument, and a finger hold member supporting
the striker member, said striker and finger hold members including
an integral hinge portion connecting the two parts for hinging of
the striker on the finger hold member, said finger hold member having
a generally flat member and an extension generally parallelling
said striker member, a tension member operatively engaging said
striker member and said extension and placed under increased tension
when the striker moves away from the extension, said striker having
an acutely angled thumb piece disposed closely adjacent to said
hinge portion for moving the striker away from the extension to
cock the striker, said finger hold member includes a finger hold
located beneath said flat portion, said finger hole having an integral
lower finger portion by means of which the device is held by a user,
said integral hinge portion being disposed substantially midway
of said generally flat member and said thumb piece is retracted
toward said flat member to cock the striker member, said pivoted
striker member being flexible and said extension member has a top
surface including an upward projection about which the striker member
flexes when impelled by said tension member and is retracted by
the tension member after puncturing a finger pad.
2. A flesh puncturing device as set forth in claim 1 wherein said
pivoted striker member has a relatively thin section intermediate
its length to provide a built-in hinge point to facilitate flexing
of the striker about said projection.
3. A flesh puncturing device as set forth in claim 2 wherein said
strike member has a downward projection cooperating with said upward
projection on said top surface.
Description BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Heretofore, blood has been drawn from a patient for testing by
puncturing the finger tip pad at the fleshy inner side of the finger
by cutting the pad with a sharp knife, or a needle and this puncture
was made by a quick jab of the puncturing element into the finger
pad to cause bleeding. However, this operation was not always accurately
performed and resulted in unnecessarily hazardous penetration of
the flesh and painful reaction by the patient.
The finger to be punctured was tightly held by the nurse, or technician
performing the operation and sometimes the users of this method
would miss the finger pad of the patient and jab their own finger
and create a possibility of serious contamination by mixing two
blood types, or by contaminating the puncturing instrument itself.
Some prior devices have been spring driven in an axial direction
to puncture the finger tip pad by a knife, or pin, that first had
to be retracted to cock the puncturing device and when released
was forcefully driven into the pad, sometimes unnecessarily deep
and at times striking the bone with attendant pain to the patient.
Some doctors, or nurses, have at times drawn blood for testing
by using a knife, or scalpel, with which they made a cut into the
finger pad, but this too was painful to the patient and sometimes
left a wound that entailed a prolonged period of healing. All such
prior methods of drawing blood for tests were somewhat haphazard
and entailed risks and pain to the patient and the devices, where
utilized for repeated use, necessarily had to be sterilized before
each use.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This invention provides a hinged striker element of flexible construction
for driving a sharp puncturing device into the fleshy finger tip
pad, or an ear lobe and which is integrally associated with a mounting
element that includes a generally flat surface member on which the
striker element is pivotally secured for hinged movement with an
upward projection on the flat surface about which the striker flexes
when it is swung from a cocked position to an operative position
where its travel is limited by engagement with the flat surface
element.
The flat surface member is provided with a finger hold portion
at the opposite side from the hinged striker mounting and preferably
this includes a hole for insertion of one finger of a user and a
trigger-like part for engagement by a second finger. The striker
element has an angularly disposed thumb piece by means of which
the striker may be cocked against force exerted by an elastic element
that forcefully moves the striker to its operative position when
the thumb piece is released.
The striker element also has an enclosure, or mounting, for a needle
preferably, or a knife, or other sharp instrument, to puncture the
finger pad under impact driven by the elastic element. The puncturing
element is mounted adjacent the free end of the striker and the
actual puncturing part extends through an opening in the flat surface
element to engage the finger pad.
The opening through the flat surface element comprises a slot in
the end area of the element and when the sharp puncturing element
passes through this slot under impetus of the elastic when the thumb
piece is released, its depth of penetration into the finger pad
is limited by the thickness of the flat surface member which is
placed on the finger pad, with the striker cocked, to position the
striker for proper entry of the puncturing part into the finger
pad. A fulcrum-like upward projection on the flat surface causes
the puncturing element to flex thereabout when this element is impelled
by the elastic and thereby project through the slot and penetrate
the finger pad after which it is retracted by the elastic to dispose
the sharp element at least within the thickness of the flat surface
member, or thereabove. The sharp puncturing part is maintained in
a completely sanitary condition prior to use by being fully enclosed
within the closure mounting until actual use is to be made of the
device to draw blood.
The striker element is provided with a hinge point intermediate
its length to facilitate flexing thereof when it contacts the upward
projection atop the flat surface element, whereby the puncturing
element more readily passes through the surface element and into
the flesh to be punctured and by the same token is sprung back to
its normally retracted position.
This puncturing part is exposed just before use by removing a tear-off
part, or a twist-off piece, forming the actual enclosure about the
puncture part and this is done before the striker is cocked and
then the striker is cocked and the flat surface member laid on the
finger pad and the thumb piece released to let the puncture part
strike the fulcrum-like projection and flex about its hinge point
to project the puncturing element through the slot and into the
flesh of the finger pad and thus cause the finger to bleed.
The entire puncturing device is made from a suitable plastic material
for ease of manufacture and especially economy, so that the device
can be used for but one blood drawing operation and then discarded.
The elastic element comprises a relatively heavy band of rubber,
or other elastic material, for this same purpose, whereby the entire
assembly is very cheap to produce and can economically be thrown
away after one use.
The elastic element encircles the striker element and the flat
surface member at the side of the hinge toward the free end, so
that when the striker is cocked the elastic is stretched and when
the thumb piece is released the stressed elastic band exerts a force
on the striker to impact the striker about the fulcrum projection
to cause the sharp element to be propelled through the slot and
puncture the finger pad which is disposed against the flat bottom
surface on the member when that type of blood test is to be made.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The principal objectives of the invention are attained by the arrangement
and structure of the device illustrated in the accompanying drawings
wherein
FIG. 1 is a general perspective view of the finger puncturing device
showing the sanitary enclosure of the puncture element removed and
its mounting in a hinged striker element integral with a finger
hold part and illustrating the device as held by a user with a finger
under the extension piece for puncture;
FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the finger puncturing lancet
showing the striker in the closed position with the sanitary closure
still in place;
FIG. 3 also is a side elevational view with portions in section
and showing the sanitary closure broken away to expose the lancet
device;
FIG. 4 is an end elevational view of the device with the enclosure
removed and the lancet device exposed ready for use;
FIG. 5 is a bottom plan view of the device with the closure removed;
FIG. 6 is a general perspective view of the preferred form of the
invention, illustrating the lancet device as held by a user, showing
the device in its cocked condition with its sanitary cover for the
puncturing element removed and the hinged striker element provided
with an intermediate hinge area for flexibility;
FIG. 7 is a front elevational view of the lancet also in the cocked
position;
FIG. 8 shows a side elevational view with the striker cocked; and
FIG. 9 is a side view, to larger scale, with the striker actuated
to the puncturing position, where the puncture device projects through
the finger contacting element into the finger.
DESCRIPTION OF FIRST EMBODIMENT
In the drawings the numeral 10 is a general reference character
directed to the finger puncturing assembly as a whole and the reference
11 identifies the finger hold piece having a finger hold 12 and
a trigger shaped finger piece 13. This finger hold piece is integral
with a generally flat surface member 14 that has a flat upper surface
15 and which extends beyond the finger hold portion as at 16. The
free end of the extension 16 has an open slot 17 that extends entirely
through the thickness of the extension and is open through the end
of the extension for a purpose hereinafter to appear.
A striker member 18 is pivotally mounted on the flat surface member
14 approximately midway of its length and pivots about an integral
hinge 19 that comprises a relatively thin section of the same plastic
material with the finger hold 11 and the member 14 so that the striker
is freely movable from operative to cocked position.
The striker includes a strike portion 20 disposed substantially
parallel with the force of the surface member 14 and a thumb piece
21 disposed at an angle extending upwardly from adjacent the hinge
end of the striker, so that in its generally upright position it
forms an open angle with the flat upper surface of member 14 and
whereby the thumb piece can be pivoted backwardly about the hinge
19 until the free end thereof comes into contact with the surface
of the flat member 14.
At its free end the striker has an integral enclosure piece 22
which in the form shown has a needle 23 or other flesh puncturing
instrument embedded, or secured therein and actually is molded into
the enclosure when it is made. At the bottom end of the enclosure
the instrument 23 is fully enclosed for sanitary purposes by means
of a hollow tubular section 24 that covers the instrument 23 on
all sides and extends through the slot 17 at the free end of the
flat member extension 16.
The tubular section 24 is a tear-away item molded integrally with
the enclosure 22 which of course is integral with the puncturing
device as a whole. The tear-away portion of the tubular section
is of thinner section than the rest of the tubular structure and
may measure in the range of about 0.005" to about 0.008"
so that by twisting the section this thin section will tear away
and the tubular member can be removed to expose the instrument 23.
The tubular section 24 can readily be twisted by means of an integral
headed portion 25 on the lower end of the section and thus torn
away from the lower side of the striker member 18.
An important feature of this finger puncturing device resides in
the type of force applying means to snap the striker 18 from its
cocked position, with the thumb piece against the upper surface
of the flat member 14 to the finger puncturing position with the
instrument 23 extending through the slot 17 and limited as to its
penetration of the finger pad, or ear lobe, by the thickness of
the extension 16 which rests on the surface to be punctured. The
force applying means is very simple in operation and very economical
in the manufacture and assembly of the puncturing device as a complete
unit to arrive at a device of this type which may easily be considered
a throw-away item after one use.
The force applying means is comprised of a relatively heavy band
26 of rubber, or other elastic material, that encircles the striker
20 and the extension 16 on the member 14 so that when the striker
is cocked, the band 26 is stretched and thus placed under tension
to develop a force that snaps the striker into engagement with the
upper surface of flat 14 with the instrument 23 projecting through
the slot 17 into the finger pad, when the thumb piece 21 is released
and thus enable the finger puncturing device to complete its function.
In practice a nurse, or doctor, or other technician, using this
invention to puncture a patient's finger tip, or ear lobe, to draw
blood for testing, will grasp the finger grip elements 12 and 13
in one hand, twist off the protective cover 24 with the other hand
to expose the lancet 23 cock the striker 20 by actuating the thumb
piece 21 with the thumb of the hand holding the device and while
holding the finger, or ear lobe to be punctured, with the other
hand, lay the extension 16 on the surface where it is desired to
draw blood and release the thumb piece, whereupon the lancet 23
will be snapped to its operative position projecting through the
slot 17 and puncturing the flesh, with the slotted extension piece
16 limiting the degree of penetration by the striker contacting
the top surface 15 of the extension and immediately after the puncturing
operation the lancet 23 will be retracted by the action of the elastic
26.
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
As shown in FIGS. 6-9 the preferred form of the invention utilizes
an elongated finger hold piece 111 which has a similarly shaped
opening 112 for receiving one or more fingers of the user to provide
a stable means of holding the lancet and for convenient cocking
of the hingedly mounted striker member 118. A generally horizontal
shelf, or flat surface 115 is shown as integral with the finger
piece 111 and which extends substantially beyond the finger hold
piece, as best shown in FIG. 8. Adjacent the free end of the shelf
115 a hole 117 extends entirely throuqh the shelf for the passage
of a puncturing instrument 123 during the operation of letting blood
from a patient's finger, as indicated in FIG. 9.
The striker element 118 is pivotally mounted on the shelf 115
as at 119 and this hinge element is integral with the shelf and
with the striker. The striker 118 pivots on the shelf 115 at a point
approximately midway of the length of the shelf so that the striker
engages the free end area of the shelf in the finger puncturing
position shown in FIG. 9 and a thumb piece 121 on the striker engages
the opposite end area of the shelf when the striker is cocked, as
shown in FIG. 8. An anti-finger-slipping projection 113 is provided
at the front side of the finger hold 111 to prevent the fingers
from slipping off when they are engaged around the front side of
the finger hold instead of through the central opening.
An important feature of the striker e1ement 118 comprises an intermediate
hinge point 114 that is integral with the striker and represents
a thin section therein that enables the striker to flex more readily
when it is released from its cocked position whereby the puncture
element 123 is easily driven through the opening 117 by the force
applied by the spring device 126 which actually comprises a heavy
rubber band that encircles the striker element 118 and the shelf
115 so that the band is placed under tension when the striker is
cocked and then expends this built-up force when the thumb piece
121 is released and thereby rapidly advance the striker to cause
the puncturing element 123 to pass through the opening 117 and puncture
the flesh under the shelf 115 as in FIG. 9.
The sharp puncture element 123 is integrated with the striker 118
by molding it integrally with an enclosure 122 formed as a part
of the striker 118 and disposed at the upper side thereof. The sharp
end of the puncture element 123 below the shelf 115 is also enclosed
for maintaining the sanitary condition of this part and this enclosure
comprises a tubular section 124 that comprises a removable, or tear-away
portion, for easy disposal when the lancet is prepared for use.
The tear-away portion 124 may be of thin section material so that
by twisting the section it may readily be torn off to expose the
sharp puncture device 123. In order to make such removal of the
protective cover 124 more readily attainable it is provided with
an integral head portion 125 of larger diameter that may be grasped
and twisted to tear the cover away from the lower side of the shelf
115 and thus expose the sharp puncture element for use.
The force generating tension device 126 encircles the striker element
in the bight area where the thumb piece 121 and the shelf 118 are
joined and at the under side of the shelf the tension device encircles
the shelf between the finger-hold element 111 and a depending projection
120 on the under side of the shelf, thus accurately positioning
the member 126 at the location where it is most effective to exert
the maximum effort in actuating the striker. To facilitate the flexing
of the striker at the hinge point 114 projections 116 and 130 are
provided on the upper surface of the shelf 115 and the under side
of the striker 118 respectively, so located that when the thumb
piece 121 is released to actuate the striker under the impetus of
the spring 126 the two projections will engage to stop the downward
arcing of the striker portion between the hinges 114 and 119 and
cause the free end portion of the striker beyond the hinge 114 to
swing forceably about this hinge point and drive the puncture element
123 through the shelf opening 117 and thereby quickly complete the
puncturing operation.
CONCLUSION
From the foregoing it will be seen that a blood lancet device has
been provided which is made entirely of plastic materials for economy
of manufacture and having an elastic force generating means to actuate
a hinged striker and containing a sharp flesh penetrating instrument
to create a wound from which blood can be drawn for test purposes,
whether it be a hemoglobin test, blood type, or other test. The
striker importantly is pivotally mounted and self-hinged on a finger
hold element that includes a fulcrum-like upward projection about
which a built-in hinge point of the striker flexes and also affords
a convenient means for a user to hold the device from which to operate
the striker. |